Chasing Serenity
Series: Seeking Serenity series, Book #1
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Cover Designed by: Steven Novak
Cover Reveal Organized by: As the Pages Turn
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Book Blurb:
Graduate student Autumn McShane has had her share of heartbreak. She’s been abandoned and betrayed and she lost her beloved mother in a tragic car accident five months ago. That loss damaged her body and fractured her spirit but she’s just learning to recover both until her emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend returns to town, intent on making her life miserable.
Declan Fraser hates her ex as much as Autumn does, but the last thing she needs is to put her trust in the hands of another man, especially one like Declan: his hard body and lulling Irish accent makes more than few girls weak-kneed. The talented rugby player is rude and sarcastic, with tattooed, muscular arms and a cocky attitude, but he's the only one who can help Autumn win an ill-advised bet that, if lost, could cost her more than she's willing to pay. The reluctant alliance between Declan and Autumn stirs up cravings she doesn't want to admit, but Declan is a hard man to resist.
Just when Autumn starts letting down her carefully constructed walls to the sexy bad boy, he betrays her in her moment of greatest need. Autumn suspects Declan has dark secrets, and she is determined to uncover what drove him away from her, even if that means fraternizing with the enemy. But will the truth return Declan to her arms or add to the scars on her heart?
Excerpt:
My godmother’s lip print is stained on my
cheek. Wiping the color off is impossible. It is thick, expensive I’m sure, and
doesn’t budge regardless of the efforts I make against it. The cool night
breeze floats against my face and despite the unsettling news from earlier, I
smile when the delicious scent of the bakery on the corner invades my senses.
Cavanagh is safe, that’s true of most small towns, and I enjoy being able to
walk from my apartment to campus and into the quaint easy bustle of downtown
without worrying about being attacked. The rugby pitch, apparently, isn’t as
safe.
My reflection is fractured, disjointed in
Donoghue’s Hardware store window and the handkerchief from my bag is warm next
to my skin. Distracted by the task of scrubbing my cheek clean, I don’t notice
the form behind me until he speaks.
“You
tattled, did you?”
Cavanagh is safe, but I’m not an unprepared
idiot. My hand is around the mace in my pocket and extended outward before I
see Declan standing in front of me. He stretches his long fingers in surrender,
but his face is deadpan, curious. When I lower the mace, Declan slips his fists
into the pockets of the thin, brown jacket. I know an argument is brewing. My
impression of him in my classroom earlier today is likely correct: smug,
condescending, vulgar. His eyes are narrowed, his mouth stretched into a firm
line and he looks at me as though I am a stubborn spot on the top of his boot.
I’m not in the mood for him, for his annoying little grumbles so I shake my
head and walk away, but typical of every insufferably stubborn man I’ve ever
known, he follows me.
“Not
going to deny it?”
Ava’s news about my father has my nerves on
edge. I’m anxious that I’ll turn the corner and see him waiting for me. I
really don’t need Declan to add to my bad mood by picking a fight with me. He
pulls on my elbow and spins me around and the small thread of patience I held
breaks completely. I hope that my angry expression is vicious enough to make
him realize just how stupid it would be to piss me off.
“I am not the girl and this is so not the
night. Back off.”
He lifts one dark eyebrow underneath his
shaggy hair and looks mildly impressed, but a second later, a board frown
appears to accentuate the dimple in his cheek. “You were with the president.”
“And?”
His frown deepens and his cheeks have taken on
a pink hue, as though he’s either very annoyed or slightly drunk. “Did you not
say you didn’t want anyone in a mess?”
“I did.”
“So what did you say to Winchell? Did you tell
her about last night?”
I shouldn’t be surprised by his self-serving
attitude. It’s been my experience that most men are solely focused on things
that concern them and them alone. I release some of my anger, eager to put this
bullying Irishman in his place.
“You know, it must be lonely living in a world
that revolves solely around you.”
He smirks again. I’m starting to believe this
guy has one superior, arrogant expression.
“Insult me all you like, McShane,
I’m not fussed.”
The casual use of my surname bothers me. It
seems that hearing my first from his lips would require an exertion he can’t be
bothered to manage. “Clearly you are. If you aren’t, why are you bugging me?”
“Just trying to see how deep the well of shite
is I’m in.”
I walk away, pulling my arms across my chest
to keep off the chill in the air. Naturally, he follows at my side. “Get
over yourself, Declan. Dr. Winchell is a family friend. We were just having
dinner.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that, am I?”
What an unbelievable prick. “I really don’t
give a shit what you believe.”
I don’t want to give this jackass the
satisfaction of knowing he irks me, but I can’t stand on the sidewalk arguing
with him all night. I also can’t hold back the litany of filthy oaths I
muttered under my breath.
“What else am I to believe then? You and nancy
boy Tucker are doing your best to piss me off.”
“Oh and how are we accomplishing that very
easy task?”
Once again he stops me. He holds onto my arm
longer than it takes to make me pause. His grip is snug and I feel a flush run
over my chest, up my neck.
“A book sale?”
I jerk my arm free from his hold. “He thinks
you could stand to be taken down a peg or two.”
“A what?”
“It’s an expression. Tucker didn’t buy your
apology. Neither did I. Working on the book sale will help you learn humility.”
He arches his neck into a frustrated shake.
“It’ll piss me off. And I don’t give a shite what Tucker thinks I need. I’m not
here to kiss arse. I’m here to play.”
“All that playing you’re doing is what got you
into trouble in the first place, isn’t it? Besides, Tucker said—”
“Oh sod Tucker Fecking Morrison.” I frown.
It’s not like I haven’t said something similar about my ex in the past year,
but Declan’s anger at Tucker seems extreme. It can’t just be the ridiculous
amounts of testosterone I know fills the rugby pitch and Declan being pissed
about having to apologize to me. Whatever it is, he ignores for a moment and
his irritated frown and curled lip disappear. “That’s right. You fancy him,
don’t you now?”
“Hardly.”
His smile is wide, incredibly condescending
and I can only sigh at what I’m sure will be more sarcastic jibes. “Well
now that’s a shame.”
“And why is that?”
He shrugs. I don’t like the ridiculous grin on
his face or the way his eyes light up with humor. “I just think it might be
good for you to have a nice ride, even if it is with Morrison.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re wound so bleeding tight it’s a wonder
you don’t pop.”
This guy really is full of himself. A five
minute conversation and he thinks he knows me?
“And how would you know that
exactly?”
“I did kiss you.” Declan takes a slow step in
my direction, his eyes narrowed and unflustered as he stares down at me. There
is a crinkle of electricity in that stare and I my throat constricts. “Drunk as
I was, I could tell you liked it. You weren’t all frigid, not for the whole of
it. I felt your…a…” he looks down at my chest and his eyes linger between my
two top buttons, “bits that
were keen.”
He can’t be serious. For a moment I can only
manage to stare at him, pausing to measure the expressions on his face, to see
if he’s joking. Declan wets his bottom lip and I can do nothing but laugh. I
didn’t realize men were really this obnoxious. He doesn’t seem to like my
reaction. His face hardens, becomes guarded and severe and his cheeks grow an
even deeper shade of pink.
“You think you rocked my world?”
“I did in fact, I’m guessin.”
I’m about to lie to a complete stranger. I
have zero plans for getting back with Tucker. Besides, by his comment, I get
that Declan knows nothing about our history. I move in for the kill and Declan
doesn’t jerk away from me when my fingers touch his face. His green eyes darken
and he bites the inside of his lip. The crackle of energy returns, but I know
it is forced, that my slow, intimate movement has elevated the tension exactly
how I intend. I lift my hand, rub my thumbnail across his bottom lip and he
swallows, the sound of his throat working is audible.
“Funny, because I recall my world getting
rocked a lot harder those few minutes Tucker and I were alone in my classroom.”
I drop my hand and step back, just a bit smug when I see Declan’s flustered
gape and curled lip. As I continue down the sidewalk, I know he’s watching me.
I know he’s frustrated, likely angry that I got to him. My heels click against
the pavement, but the sound is drowned out by Declan’s low curses echoing
behind me.
Author Bio:
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” will launch October 2013.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, thinking up impossible plots, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
Author Contact Info:
I like the cover. Thanks for sharing that cool excerpt too :)
ReplyDeleteI like this cover too! It's beautiful! :)
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